Friday, July 25, 2008

Inspired By Readers

About six weeks ago during the draft we had an idea that was born out of the obvious passion of some of the readers of this blog. With the enthusiastic cooperation of the people at MLBAM (not to mention our own production staff - thanks, Erik), we have been able to make this idea a reality in a very short period of time.

The above is actually a temporary link, and the channel is clearly in BETA version, but I wanted to get it out to you as soon as possible. In reality, this is a sneak preview for all of you who inspired the idea.

This channel already has some great content including: an in-depth interview with Grady Fuson discussing our 2008 draft, footage of our July 2nd international signings, a great clubhouse tour (under "entertainment"), and much, much more. We plan on adding a lot more content, but there's plenty for you to check out now.

We couldn't be more excited about this new channel. It's a deeper look into the Padres than you've ever seen before.

18 comments:

Awesome. That is the first time I saw that Dominican facility. I must say, Incredible. It is also great to see the Padres helping out the community there. Those kids we have at that complex seem pretty darn proud to wear that Padres cap and uniform. It is great to see. I can not wait for that facility to start producing players year after year, because it will happen!

I really applaud the Padres organization for being so open with their fans:

a) by allowing/encouraging you to do this blogb) having so many front office people do radio interviewsc) this new video site

I loved the Grady Fuson piece about the Padres draft philosophy and the need to replenish it quickly. Just very cool to see for the general public like myself and man, Decker's swing looked real good from the side.

This is terrific. The Dominican facility is unbelievable. I hope we'll see some players come out of the program soon. It is also really cool that the Padres are helping the community in the Dominican. The video showing the Dominican community outreach program is very inspiring. I can't believe other teams are not doing the same thing?

PaulThank you so much for getting this put together. This coupled with your blog are providing valuable insight into the inter workings of the Padres front office. Something that every diehard fan has always wanted. I can't applaud you or the Padres enough. Now if we could only win some games. . .

Paul,Love the site and what you've done with it so far. I was wondering if we could get an update on our drafted kids, like who is signed and playing, who is still unsigned and where we stand on the guys who aren't yet in the fold.

I was dying to get a look at the newly signed international prospects, and the footage of Aristy's triumphant homecoming after signing was the best thing I've seen all day. Keep the player development footage coming, it gives us something to cling to while the big league club is floundering. The Dominican facility looks to be truly wonderful, and the community outreach work is commendable. (Not to mention slapping Padre caps on all those grade-school kids, who someday, may be 16-year old phenoms)

Not that I want to condone fighting, but is there any chance of having footage of the infamous 1984 Brawl vs. the Braves included on the new channel? I know the team doesn't want to glorify this type of behavior, but I've never been able to find video of that game on the internet. I know many other fans would be incredibly interested to see it as well.

Paul,With the internet chock full of suggestions that the Red Sox have finally had it with "Manny being Manny", any chance the Padres could step in an acquire the RH bat they have needed for the better part of a decade?Even though the Pads are finished this year, you could draw a parallel to our acquisition of Brain Giles at the tail end of a morbid 2003 season, with the acquisition serving as notice for the ballclub going into 2004. The big league club has a large amount of dollars coming off the books this offseason, and could afford to pick up the bulk of the remaining contract. If they agree to pick up the lion's share of the amount owed to Ramirez, the prospect package heading to Boston would seemingly be modest. And with Ramirez in LF, we could flip Kouzmanoff to a team in need of a young, cheap 3B, and slide Headley into the hot corner.Admittedly, Ramirez is not the force he was years ago, and he comes with baggage, but this strikes me as an opportunity to obtain the impact bat that has eluded the organization for years.Knowing that you cannot comment specifically on players under contract with another club, what are your thoughts relative to the scenario in general?

The purpose of any move would be to improve the club, and even though Ramirez has fallen off the ridiculous pace set earlier in his career, I'll take a .900 OPS with 30-100 from the cleanup position all season long. He is still an elite bat whose defense would be no worse than the 3B we currently run out to LF every day.I don't think any Padre fan would dispute that the lineup is in need of an impact bat for 2009. The notion that Ramirez is more valuable in Fenway than Petco is preposterous. A premier bat like Ramirez will play anywhere, and if you check his splits you will note his production (home and road) surpasses anyone on the Padre roster.Obviously, it's just an idea. If anyone else feels that similar production can be found elsewhere, we're all ears. The price tag should not be the concern, although we've been conditioned to accept that rationale. I'd like to hear input from everyone relative to importing a difference-making bat, be it through free agency or the trade market.

I doubt Manny is the "character" kind of guy the Padres want leading their youth movement.

Also, with Manny being a FA at the end of the year, a trade seems extremely unlikely as they could just sign him (again, extremely doubtful) and the Padres hardly seem to have the pieces that would suit Boston's demands to contend this season (unless another team gets involved).

Manny is a hitting savant, but there are other FA I'd rather have who would come a little cheaper (which would allow you to patch other holes with the extra cash), probably play more games and not cause nearly as many distractions.

I wouldn't mind seeing the Pads sign a FA SS (three good ones will be available this offseason - O.Cabrera, E.Renteria - club option & R.Furcal) AND a OF bat (P.Burrell, A.Dunn, B.Abreu) instead of giving that money to Manny.